Obituary - Carlos Armando Girón Rosa

Obituary
Carlos Armando Girón Rosa (PPRE 2015-17)
May 28, 1991 - March 11, 2020
In memory of a special friend.
"Write what should not be forgotten" - Isabel Allende
Carlos Girón born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, passed away tragically on the morning of March 11th in Blantyre, Malawi. Today May 28th as I write this, it's painful, not just because of the tragic nature of his passing or the way he was suddenly taken away in the prime of his life; today it would have been his 29th birthday. He is survived by his both parents, and a younger brother and sister.
There are many reasons to celebrate his passing, there are many more reasons to celebrate his life.
Carlos embodied the word ‘Attitude’. He was a vanquisher, an entrepreneur. He was as fearless and brave as he was friendly, respectful and honourable. He was always open to trying something new, based on two facts: It’s something new and the only way to find out is to do it.
There are those who talk and those who do. Carlos was the latter: He was also willing to put his actual self on the line, be the one to take that footstep, to lead, not to follow. He made the rules, he lived life on his terms.
He understood the concept of Les Brown “To achieve something you have never achieved before you must become someone you have never been”.
He did his internship in India, partly because he found India enthralling and had never been there before. Being told that it wouldn’t be easy only made the prospect more interesting for him. He returned sunburnt, fatigued, broke; but happy, satisfied, fulfilled.
When we started our company, it went something like this: He had been locked up in his room, even on weekends, working on this ‘important project’. He wouldn’t say. Then he asked for my input on a technical document, then another. Then he asked me to proofread. Then he asked me to prepare a technical bid format. Then he asked me for a picture of myself. Then he invited me to review some other stuff and give my opinion. Apparently, he liked the feedback because that ‘other stuff’ was a website, a full array of financial, administrative and technical documents, a full business plan. He asked me to openly but constructively criticize all of the work, then he said to me, “I want you to be my business partner but I’m the one going to Africa”.
He had his quirks, for sure. But they only served to make him more endearing. He for instance, loved bananas, but so do many others. I myself love bananas. A banana milkshake on a warm summer afternoon is a treat. Not for Carlos. He’d have his banana at breakfast. He’d cut a horizontal trench throughout the length of the banana then fill it with marmalade, usually strawberry. I looked at him doing it a few times, the anticipation in his eyes. I tried it once, I couldn’t even manage to keep it down.
As serious and hard working as he was he was fun-loving, a free spirit, and a clown. There was once he decided on a whim to dye his beard and moustache silver. As the days passed, it became orange. Not funny? Imagine ringing a doorbell and some guy you recognize and remember having black hair that same morning standing there with silver facial hair just staring back at you.
On one occasion at the botanical garden in Oldenburg he frustrated me a bit by plucking a leaf or fruit from each plant that we encountered, looking at it, sniffing it then eating it. I pointedly reminded him that many plants were poisonous and that his actions could kill him. His reply was to laugh out loud and mention casually that I should bury him under a banana or pineapple plant. That answer embodied his person. It was virtually impossible to get angry with him or remain that way for a substantial period of time, yet when he needed to be firm about something he was. A born influencer, Carlos could sell a cat to a mouse; easy going, yet when needed to be, extremely stubborn- he was forever the optimist, he would just never give up. He would assess a situation, identify the obstacles and not let any of those obstacles stand in the way of what he wanted.
He had a personality that transcended cultures. As a friend said to me recently, Carlos had the ability to be in a room of mixed strangers where something needed to be said, he’d know just what to say, he’d say it and then everybody would be happy. Not surprisingly, the news of his death was mourned on 5 continents, he impacted the life of so many. I’ve asked many to describe the person they knew, the feedback is always the same. They describe someone who was friendly, always optimistic, determined, smart, busy, happy with life, daring to dream and not afraid to make sacrifices. In Malawi where the unfortunate last minutes of his life unfurled, it took only 1 meeting with the Malawian government officials for them to determine that this is someone they could work with and make progress. Such was his influence, politicians and clients alike mourned at his funeral. I get asked all the time, “Could you sent us another person like Carlos?” but I’m sorry, there was only one like him.
If there is any closure to be had, it's to take comfort from the fact that Carlos died doing what he loved and, in a place, where he enjoyed living.
For those of us who really knew him, he remains immortal, because those memories provide comfort, a connection, a deeper understanding and appreciation of life and inspiration to keep going on. In Carlos' own words “We have to keep pushing forward”
I miss you brother, you're gone but never will be forgotten.